Since Oct. 5, homeowners in Conway, Arkansas, have been told to switch off their automatic sprinklers and stop watering lawns, landscaping and gardens with city water until further notice. Conway Corporation, the city’s utility, said it will stay in Phase 3 of its Water Curtailment Plan for the rest of 2026 as drought keeps pulling down Brewer Lake, its main water source. The restrictions are mandatory and enforceable under a city ordinance.
Gardeners do have one narrow option left. The utility said in its Sept. 29 notice that customers “may continue to hand water individual plants, flowers and shrubs as needed.”
From one watering day a week to none
Before October, Phase 3 still allowed lawn irrigation one day a week, assigned by street address on a Saturday and Sunday schedule. That schedule ended Oct. 5. In its place, Conway Corp asked residential and business customers to turn off automatic sprinkler and irrigation systems and to stop watering lawns with utility water. The notice said more than 90% of Conway Corp water customers are residential, so changes at individual homes add up quickly.
The utility said in a release reported by KATV on Oct. 5 that it would remain in Phase 3 through the end of the year. “These measures are necessary to help protect Conway’s water supply throughout the ongoing drought,” Conway Corp said in the release, as quoted by TriArk Radio, which noted that the weather had cooled but lake levels were still falling…